— 001. King Woman - Paradise Lost

— 002. Lingua Ignota - Spite Alone Holds Me Aloft

— 003. Miranda Sex Garden - A Fairytale About Slavery

--I haven't really seen this touched upon too much... so bear with me here. This may be a little disorganized but hopefully you'll see what I'm trying to put down-- or maybe I'm biting my own ass on this ah well. I'm picking up on something but, the parts may be scrambled tbh. There are a few other things I would like to connect in here, but it needs to cook a little more, so that'll come at a later point.

We know the interesting history with blood and blood transfusions in Yharnam. We know some of the culture built around the blood and why. How it heals, how it thoroughly contaminates through ingestion, transfusion and... how it transforms the afflicted. From marrow, to blood, to bone... More importantly, we know what manner of beasts that spring forth from the scourge and that the blood has led to that. So then... what the hell is up with Darkbeasts in particular? Despite the blood hunger, the links to Loran, The Beggar, Paarl, the blood letting beast... However, the fun connecting detail and the implications with beasthood and the blood... and that is the persistent theme of undeath attributed to Darkbeasts, another alleged creature of the beastly affliction supposedly. It is ever present, and it persists, often tied back to Darkbeasts in particular as said. A contamination that is inherent to them and what they are as beasts... It is also the condition in which we find the few that are present in game as well. Most of them are in various half alive or damaged states, with the exception being the beggar who presents himself as a man first and foremost. Alive and intact. I will point at one such case being the description for the 'Beast Claw' which I found interesting... but make of it what you will:

SO DECREES THE BLACK WARDEN 

When we consider that nature of Silver Tears and where they're located in the Eternal Cities-- there is, without a doubt, a considerable amount of 'Ants' within the vicinity or close by in the cave systems, scrounging among piles of dead bodies.

In regards to the working dynamic, we first see active use of the ants as mounts for the Nox. From this, we can surmise that the Nox seem to use the Ants as 'work horses', and that there is enough familiarity and symbiotic "trust" established between them that it doesn't seem to far fetched to consider other possibilities. It also isn't difficult to imagine that they could be used for a variety of other tasks.

Given that there is only so much to go off of, it seems that there may be a connection between the ants and the the processing/production of silver tears or even the 'base' of a silver tear? The ants are always wandering or gathering when not in use, corpses seem to serve as the base foundation (maybe putrescence too) for much of their gathering/feeding habits, and if we also want consider melted mushrooms (that can also be found in abundance)-- that 'drips with a viscous fluid that behaves much like oil' and the arcane nature of dewkissed herba to top it off, then maybe there is something there if we consider the alchemical element of the processing of said corpses...

The ants themselves are the ones constantly harvesting, eating and moving about or they're possibly being fed directly that may influence what the ant produces or even the eggs of a queen. In that case, they would be the ones serving as the tool (or the first step) that may serve to break down and liquify materials or even possibly produce and 'incubate' silver tears through the reproductive development of eggs in regards to their "queen". Silver tears may then later be harvested from eggs, or as freshly hatched "larva". The Nox people are forgers, tinkerers... and alchemists after all.

Anon inquired: The Black Warden

The mere mention of him evokes the stark image of his towering form in her mind. Her eyes drift idly over her notes, tracing the shape of her subject in a lingering silence-- lost and dreaming. Dreaming while awake. At another time, she would have been much more clinical. She sits there for a moment, a pitch-dark specter on the other side, haunting the far reaches of ones vision. The moonshine gleam of her gaze cuts the dark as she turned her eyes upon the clinic windows. Fondly, so fondly she recalls and relives that sickly yearning, that hunger that stirred hot within her innards. Yes, the look in his eyes-- the sheer girth of his gargantuan frame trapped against her body, bending back her long, toned limbs and emanating so much heat. A warmth so penetrating it dizzied her needy-- left her ravaging and utterly pissed off. He provoked her.

Her heart fluttered in that peculiar girlish way; rapid hare-swift thu-thumps that rattled her ribs. Maddening perhaps, what such recollections reduced her to. What then of the stalwart doctor if she couldn't maintain a tinge of decorum? Where was she? Had they not trained her well? Oh no. Not here. Whatever shame she could have harbored once, she now lacked. Instead, she imbibes desire, engorges herself on the filth of her own want in the quiet of her thoughts... To lap him to the marrow and see him raw would be to indulge. Perhaps she was leaving her dear interlocuter waiting for a second too long. She leans her chin against her open palm, claw tips drumming against the arch of her cheek. Her gaze distant, taken entirely within the moment and sustained on the very thought of him. Had she only wanted to fuck him dry, then certainly he would not remain so thoroughly wedged within her thoughts, thorn in her side, pike through her heart. Had they been less to the other, they would not be there as they are now. "Oh yes... of course," She begins, cordial enough.

" The Warden, a force he is. I'd rarely -if ever- seen a man as dedicated and as uninhibited in his mission such as he. He believes himself to be more than a mere man." She felt it... the strain at the corner of her mouth at the mere thought of him. Good God. "It is something to behold, truly." It starts as a slow pull, and cuts carefully across her face, the phantom shape of a smile that threatened to reveal the whites of teeth. The veneer gradually began to fracture a little at a time, falling apart in bits and pieces until it revealed a wolf's maw, a carnivore smile. No carefully constructed act could ever properly cover it; this time she wanted to be as honest as her want, as true as hunger. She was no trembling naked thing to be eaten. No, she wanted to eat. Taste him again, hold him. Devour whatever he willingly offered her. Christ alive, they still hurt even now, but she could hardly help herself!

The Black Warden was a force of nature that dreamed it was a man, and so preoccupied was he with the thought of being more than, that he often forgot he was a construct of sinew and flesh and not of fire. He stood as an ever-present reminder of the destructive force capable of torching half the city, and still he toiled endlessly to uphold whatever fractured order and protect what little he could. Wore himself to the bone... And what work he does... to her chagrin. Sisyphean perhaps, terribly foolish at times but still, he tries and he tries again. Somehow, there was still something to admire about him, something in his lofty goals and his sheer tenacity and his brute force way of being. Misguided creature that he is, he is -anything- but stupid. His arrogance, was his shield despite how he bloodied himself half-insane. She witnessed it in all of its naked truth. The warden was a manifold man who desperately wanted to do good, but he knew no other way and he refused. A stubborn, snarling mess of a man, defiant to his core and still he strived for order among the lawless. Desperately yes, painfully so, he wanted to be good-- whatever that meant for a man like him in a city festering at the ends of the world. She saw him for what he is and loved him there. In that, they were as wolves stirring in half-circles around the other. In a way they shared the plight, but he persisted in his denial, insists in his blindness and calls it 'order' in spite of his strengths. Her eyes are still distant, feverishly dreaming of him. Feeling out her wayward aching in a bid to put incoherent thought into coherent words. "… He really is a fool, no better word for-- a wayward man," she coos honey-sweet, it drips thick from her tongue and through her plush lips, "I strive to wake him up." If she wasn't careful then she'd lose her train of thought, wholly uncouth and unapologetic in her feral aching.

"Still, I don't turn him away. I've seen what is beneath that mask of his, and he's an awful liar-- I know the scent of him, and I keep him close to heart... He means more than I ever thought he would, terrible isn't it? So profoundly backwards and after everything. I never stepped back.. never turned away when I should have... " Her cuspids exposed, she smiles still, "Instead, I made him mine."

@theblackwarden

How to Choose Music for a TTRPG Session & Eureka Song Selections

When our own group plays any TTRPG, we always like to have some amount of background music to help with the mood and tone, and if you do too, then here's a post about how best to choose it, because it is a learnable skill!

I am one of the creators of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

and the idea for this post grew out of making a curated list of songs for Eureka sessions, each sorted into different categories for easy access. The Narrator in a Eureka campaign exercises very little control over the story and pacing of the game, so it isn't very helpful to plan for a specific reveal of specific scene set to a certain song. To that end, I have sorted these songs into various types of scenes, tones, etc. for you to grab as the story is emerging.

You can find these lists here:

Session Intro Music (in case you wanna open each session with a musical theme like an episode of a tv show)

Investigation Scene Music (low-stakes) or Meal Scene

Investigation Scene Music (tense/creepy) Part 1

Investigation Scene Music (tense/creepy) Part 2

Foot Chase Music

Vehicle Chase Music

Scooby-doo-ass Chase Music

Investigators Fleeing/Hiding from Monster Music

Unarmed Combat Music

Deadly/Armed Melee Combat Music

Deadly/Firearm Combat Music

Monster Rampage Music

Monster Hunting Music (as in the monster is a PC who is hunting prey)

How to Choose Music for a TTRPG Session

There’s a few things that make a good TTRPG session song that aren’t immediately obvious.

Avoid Lyrics

Lyrics are a no-go 90% of the time. You gotta assume that the players will be trying to read rules and/or do math during the session and lyrics can make that harder.

Avoid Loud, Dissonate, or Disorienting Music

For the very same reasons—and this is especially useful to keep in mind for a horror-themed game like Eureka—it can't be too dissident or grating. A lot of horror video game music is really dissident screechy and offensive to the ears because this induces a tiny sense of panic, but again, like with lyrics, this means it’s hard to actually play a TTRPG while listening to this.

Don't Outpace the Combat

For combat music, a fast-paced “action” song can work, but if it’s too fast-paced it really quickly outpaces the combat itself because TTRPG combat is necessarily kind of slow. I do have plenty of fast-paced actiony songs in those lists, but those are best grouped into a playlist in sequence rather than looped, because then you at least have the rather frequent serendipity of the song changing on a per-turn basis.

The usual better option is something “tense” and “cool” but a bit more understated, usually with a mid-intensity repeating beat. Complex action songs work in other mediums like movies because their notes can be tailored to sync up to the actual actions on-screen, but that won’t happen in a TTRPG 90% of the time, even if just because describing a character throwing a punch takes way longer than a character throwing a punch in a movie.

For Eureka I also had to like make sure there was a good selection of action music in there that wasn’t too “cool” or “heroic.” Eureka characters are not fearless action heroes nor usually trained soldiers. If they are in a fight, it usually isnt cool, it’s scary. If anything, the combat music should be the bad guy’s theme, not the protagonists’, because they’re the ones with the advantage. When a Eureka PC does have the advantage and can be super “cool” in a fight, they’re probably a monster, in which case it’s the other way around, they’re the terrifying bad guy in the NPC’s story, and I tried to pick music to reflect that with “darker,” more “sinister” tracks.

Choose Songs without Shifts in Tempo or Intensity

You want something that is very easy to loop. Lots of cool songs go through pretty dramatic changes in their intensity over the course of their runtime. This is cool like I said when they can be synced up to action in a movie, but they’ll never (or rarely) sync up with anything in a TTRPG session. They’re going to be playing over and over on like a 3-minute loop as you roll dice and occasionally look up rules, and if this loop is really noticeable because of how the song starts out slow and then swells in intensity, that is going to be annoying fast. You want a song that has a relatively consistent level of intensity throughout its whole runtime.

An INCREDIBLY useful resource full of fantastic music for all sorts of scenes! Such powerful vibes, really captures that exact distinct type of neo-noir, something that's not-quite-right, yet also deeply human. Phenomenal work, and a huge recommend. Excellent writing and explanation too!

Okay I lied. This is the Last Last update I'll share here before I finish it and insert it into her carrd.

Eureka Rules Breakdown! Episode 1 of an Actual Play of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy by the Tiny Table Podcast!

Episode 1 is out now, and you can listen to it right here!

This is the first ever Actual Play of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, so we’re super excited, especially since Tiny Table really puts the “Actual” in “Actual Play.” They may edit out a stutter or bad mic read here and there, but you won’t find any prescripting of character arcs or setpiece events, just them, the rulebook, and the module.

This first episode is only about 15 minutes or so and introduces you to a brief rundown of Eureka’s rules and concepts. If you have been wondering what all the fuss is about with Eureka, but don’t feel like you have the time to download the free beta version and give it a read, then this fifteen-minute rules breakdown might be a great place to start!

The next episode, releasing on Tuesday, August 20th, will be the start of the actual Actual Play. Stay tuned for the Tiny Table crew to tackle FORIVA: The Angel Game, an adventure module for Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy.

FORIVA: The Angel Game is a 1990's investigation that sinks deep into a pit of dread and intrigue as the investigators step forward into a bizarre psychological horror mystery - one which may leave them unable to recognize themselves on the other side. To seek out the truth, an investigator must use all their wits and all the resources at their disposal - but only they know if they are ready to fall into the unthinkable rabbit hole that awaits. Stranger and stranger the story shall grow - and stranger still, what will grow in those who follow it.

Somewhere, a mother stares wordlessly at her hospitalized son who doesn’t recognize her, and wonders why this is happening to her family. Somewhere, a private detective smiles as his client offers a generous reward for someone–anyone–to blame for what was done to his children. Somewhere, a young girl tears down the advertisements that were covering up the missing poster of her friend. 

The year is 1999, and society is equal parts optimistic and apprehensive about the new millennium. Fears of the Y2K bug are circulating, Bill Clinton is still in office, and the popularity of video arcades is on the decline.

A rash of hospitalizations and disappearances has struck in Shreveport, Louisiana, with all of the victims so far being teenagers and children. Each case might at first seem unconnected, save for their close proximity in time to one another sending ripples throughout the community. Local news has been covering the story for days now, capitalizing on the fear and uncertainty of concerned parents, something that might seem like a distant problem to each investigator, until it strikes someone they know….

Having already listened to the whole thing ourselves, we can assure you that listeners who stick with it are in for a real great time! Episodes will be coming out each Tuesday, ending with a post-adventure discussion, and then an interview between the Tiny Table team and the A.N.I.M. team!

The Tiny Table Podcast has done an actual play of the system I and others have been working on for THREE years!

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy!

And they're doing it with a module I wrote, FORIVA: The Angel Game!

I was able to listen to the episodes early and....creative nirvana. Truly, I was so deeply touched and amazed and pumping my fist cheering.

You can listen to the Rules episode now, and you can learn how to play Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy!

Learn what makes it so special and loved! Read the rulebook too, but this is a great lead-in to it!

SPREAD THIS! SPREAD THIS! SPREAD THIS!

Get the Tiny Table Podcast ALL of the attention possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU TINY TABLE!!!!!!!!